Executive Administrative Assistant Job Description Manufacturing

Current job title: Executive Administrative Assistant

Industry: Manufacturing – water filtration products

Department: Administration

Years worked in this industry: More than 6

Years worked in this department: More than 6

Special training or attributes needed or helpful to get job in this industry (or specific department): Through previous employment, I had gained experience in coordinating travel, working with INS, interviewing, general office procedure, etc. that qualified me for the position.

Number of managers and/or staff supported: Per the org chart, I support only my supervisor (Sr. Vice President). In reality, I do additional work for HR, Accounting, Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Sales, and Quality Control.

Typical work hours: 7:30am to 4pm are the “set hours,” but I normally begin work by 7:15am and stay as late as needed.

Weekends or overtime hours: On average, I have about 2 hours of overtime a week Monday-Friday. About once a month, I work on Saturday or Sunday about 2-3 hours, when my supervisor needs the weekend help. For special projects (i.e., arranging yearly sales meetings), I work about 6am to 9pm. I do get paid overtime.

General salary range (Note: This is a general figure or range provided by survey respondent and may NOT be an exact salary in order to give survey respondent some privacy. Also you must take into account that the number of years worked in industry/department may contribute to this salary as well as criteria such as level of position and person reports to, required hours and geographical location.): $34,000 – $38,000 (Note: prior to this industry, I have one year in another manufacturing setting and over five years with a computer software development company).

Benefits (direct or indirect): My company pays my membership dues for IAAP (International Association of Administrative Professionals), along with hotel expenses for conferences and monthly meals at the chapter meetings. They allow me to do IAAP work during my normal work hours when time permits. They have also paid for some training books, my CAP certification and MOS certification. Additionally, I receive 10 paid holidays, vacation, sick time, Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability, 401k, stock option purchases, summer hours (work four 10-hour days, get one day off).

Lingo you might hear in this industry:

WQA – Water Quality Association – most companies in the water industry belong to the organization. They offer certification programs, education, several trade shows (domestic yearly; international every other year), help with government regulations, and provide networking opportunities.

POU / POE – Point of Use and Point of Entry. The housing units that holds a cartridge (which takes out bad stuff from the water), the POU is the location where you actually get the water from such as your kitchen water faucet. POE is where the water would come into your house. Depending on what type of water problem you’re experiencing, you would get different products. For example, if you want better tasting water, you would get a POU product such as a faucet filter or a counter top unit. For problems with sediment in the water, you would get a whole-house filter which would take out the sediment as the water comes into your house (POE) before it travels to the kitchen or bathroom faucets. You can use both a POU and POE system in the same house.

NSF – companies in the water industry send their products to NSF for them to test and validate the products against set standards (WQA also helps to set the standards and revise as needed). Once it passes the test, companies can use the “NSF certified” logo on their product literature.

A typical day on the job:

The morning begins by running 11 queries in the AS/400 and then entering the info into a status report using Excel. Then I get to fold invoices, stuff envelopes, and mail out. At [the same time in the afternoon] every day, I process invoices for 7 companies, sort them, and run several reports. These two tasks are the only things that occur daily.

Weekly, I do the check vouchering for accounting (about 3-6 hours). This involves verifying the printed checks match with the paperwork, then mailing out the checks.

Other items include:
• Coordinate PowerPoint presentations

• Am the “go to” person when employees have questions about Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Lotus Notes

• Coordinate a quarterly newsletter for our company location; monthly articles for distribution across 7 companies in our division

• Coordinate travel arrangements, including completing passport and visa applications as needed

• Coordinate donations to various organizations within the county

• File and submit approval for appropriation requests (for expenses and capital assets)

• Backup receptionist

• And pretty much any other miscellaneous tasks that come up

Positive things about being an administrative professional in this industry: There is always variety in the job – you never know what’s coming next.

Negative things about being an administrative professional in this industry: Not sure if this is industry specific or more company specific… it’s difficult to plan ahead for meetings and reports. Everything is done last minute and I’m a planner. I’ve had to learn to be more flexible to accommodate this.

Type of workspace/office: A pseudo-cubicle. I’m the only one at the end of a hallway, just outside my supervisor’s office. [great window view]

Primary responsibilities as an administrative professional in this position:

Assist Sr. VP with phone calls, responding to email, writing reports, and preparing presentations.

Update and send out the daily sales status report (to over 160 people).

Coordinate travel arrangements, including helping to complete passport and visa applications for international travelers.

Top thing(s) incumbent admin would require of job applicants seeking to be her/his position replacement:

• Common sense
• Quick thinking – good gut instinct
• Excellent computer skills with the ability to train others

Office machines or equipment operated regularly: Computer, printer, copier, fax machine, scanner, postage meter, folding machine, switchboard/telephone, electric stapler

Technology (hard) skills used regularly: Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Lotus Notes, AS/400 (Mapics), Visio, Adobe Acrobat, Internet

Critical soft skills:

• Excellent listening and communication skills – both written and verbal. You need to be able to relate to all levels of employees from the plant floor to the CEO.

• Respect and tact. This goes along with the communication skills… you need to be able to share and discuss opinions/decisions in a reasonable fashion without offending someone, especially if there are two or more differing views.

• Telephone skills – having good tone in your voice, answering calls properly, responding appropriately.

Pace of this position: Varies.

Geographical region: Midwest U.S.